THE HAGUE — The International Criminal Court has granted former President Rodrigo Duterte’s request to waive his right to attend his confirmation of charges hearing next week, allowing the proceedings to move forward without him.

In a decision issued Friday, February 20, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I said the hearing scheduled from February 23 to 27 may proceed even if Duterte does not appear in person or via video link.

The confirmation of charges hearing is not yet a full trial. During the proceeding, judges will determine whether prosecutors have presented sufficient evidence to send the case to trial.

Duterte’s legal team initially sought to waive his right to attend the hearing on February 16. Two days later, the former president submitted a signed written request confirming that he understood his right to be present and the consequences of waiving it, which had been “thoroughly explained” by his lawyers, according to the chamber’s ruling.

Both the ICC Office of the Prosecutor and the Common Legal Representatives of Victims opposed the request, arguing that Duterte had no valid reason to be absent. However, the chamber ruled that his signed waiver complied with the Rome Statute and the court’s procedural requirements, which allow confirmation hearings to be held in a suspect’s absence if the waiver is voluntary.

ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet clarified that Duterte’s absence is based solely on his personal decision and not on medical grounds. A panel of three independent medical experts had earlier found him physically and mentally fit to participate in the proceedings, a finding affirmed by the chamber in a January 26 ruling.

The chamber also noted that if Duterte seeks to skip a separate annual hearing on his detention set for February 27, he must submit a new waiver specifically for that proceeding.

Under Article 63(1) of the Rome Statute, trials in absentia are not allowed. Should the charges be confirmed, Duterte would be required to attend the trial.

Meanwhile, ICC prosecutors had urged the chamber to compel Duterte to appear. In a filing signed by Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang and released February 19, the prosecution asked the judges to reject Duterte’s request.

“The Prosecution respectfully requests that the Chamber reject Mr Duterte’s request to waive his right to appear at the confirmation hearing. There is no reasonable cause for Mr Duterte not to appear in person in court at the confirmation hearing,” the filing read.

Prosecutors said Duterte’s health concerns had already been addressed by the chamber and the independent medical panel, which unanimously concluded he was fit to participate and described him as an unreliable narrator of his own health and mental condition. They argued that the same arguments could not be “recycled” to justify his absence.

They also pointed to Duterte’s statement that he would not even follow the proceedings via video link.

“The fact that Mr Duterte has stated that he will not even follow the proceedings via video link demonstrates that his reasons to avoid appearing in public are not health related but rather due to his lack of respect for the Court,” the filing read.

The prosecution further cited what it described as inconsistencies in the defense’s previous submissions. On January 9, Duterte’s lawyers had complained to the chamber that he had “not been seen in court for ten months.”

“Duterte’s sudden heel-turn on this matter now, days before he is due to face the substantive criminal charges made against him, should be rejected by the Chamber,” the filing read.

Prosecutors also stressed that Duterte’s presence would be significant for victims participating in the proceedings.

“As previously submitted by the Prosecution, it is also important that the proceedings are open and that Mr Duterte is visible while he defends the criminal charges made against him,” the prosecution wrote.

Duterte has been detained at the ICC facility in Scheveningen, the Netherlands, since his arrest in March 2025. He faces three counts of crimes against humanity for alleged murders linked to his anti-illegal drugs campaign during his tenure as Davao City mayor and later as president.

The charges cover killings from November 2011 to March 2019, when the Philippines was still a member of the Rome Statute. Although Duterte withdrew the country from the treaty in 2018, the ICC retains jurisdiction over crimes allegedly committed before the withdrawal took effect.

The former president has consistently denied the allegations and maintains that the ICC has no jurisdiction over him.